


Karma

by bfketh



Series: Karma-verse [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Levi, There's A Tag For That
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-14 09:03:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3404975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bfketh/pseuds/bfketh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karma is a bitch.</p><p>As Eren Jaeger discovered, a few words, spoken at the wrong time to the wrong person, can really come back to bite you in the ass.</p><p>Levi was just supposed to have a little fun with Eren, make him sweat a bit for his careless slip-up.</p><p>He wasn't supposed to be the one that ended up sweating.</p><p>Karma is a bitch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Interview

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shulkie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shulkie/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the same universe as [Negotiations](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2610857) because:
> 
> 1.) I needed an office for Levi to work in and it may as well be Erwin's law firm.
> 
> 2.) Now I can have Erwin and Mike being disgustingly cute in the background.
> 
> Also, I have a [tumblr](http://bfketh.tumblr.com/). Come bug me.

Eren was not having a good day.

He was already stressing about his interview that morning, which was bad enough. Adding to that the fact that he was running  _late_ because he'd spilled coffee on his first shirt and had to hurry and change didn't help matters.

It also didn't help that he was exhausted, thanks to a two a.m. call from his very drunken ex, begging Eren to give him a second chance.

_'Sorry Chad. You already used your second chance, **and** your third and fourth chances. You're an asshole who pretended you **weren't**  an asshole, and your blowjobs sucked. And not in the  **good**_ _way.'_

Eren took a deep breath as his train pulled into the station. Thinking about the ex wasn't improving his mood any. The doors opened and Eren waited for the stream of people getting off to thin out before getting on. As he did, he jostled the elbow of a man in a dark and very expensive-looking suit, nearly making him drop the phone he was holding up to his ear in the process.

Silvery-grey eyes glared at Eren. "Oi, watch it."

Eren returned his venomous stare. He was somewhat pleased that he had to tilt his head down to do it. Mostly, though, he was just annoyed. Maybe if the short-stack hadn't wanted to be pushed around, he should have been moving faster instead of standing in the middle of the open door. Eren growled out, "Fuck off," and continued to walk further into the train. Deep down, Eren knew most of his irritation was just due to being stressed, tired, and seriously low on caffeine, and he could almost _hear_ his mother's voice telling him to apologize. He looked back over his shoulder, the first traces of guilt starting to gnaw at his stomach, but he couldn't see the black-haired man anywhere. Maybe he'd moved to a different car in the train.

As they lurched along the track, Eren soon forgot the incident entirely in favor of mentally going over the interview answers Armin and Mikasa had helped him prepare last night.

~~~~~

Levi was not in a good mood.

His car was still in the shop, meaning he was  _still_ crammed ass-to-elbow with the not-as-washed-as-it-should-be general population. Then there'd been the snarky little shit that bumped into him that morning.

_'Christ. I should have just gotten a rental car, saving money be damned.'_

Of course, at the time he hadn't thought it was necessary. His mechanic had said the repairs would only take a few days, and Levi had decided he could just put up with public transportation for the interim.

Little did he know that "a few days" would stretch into over a week. Something about one of the parts being on back-order. Levi had stopped listening at that point, mostly due to the migraine blooming behind his temples.

He could feel another one coming on now, even as the receptionist, Petra, greeted him with a cheery "Good morning!" and handed him his usual black tea. He sighed and took a slow sip, relaxing a little as the hot steam curled up around his face. Petra had gone with an Assam this morning, but there was something a little different...

"Licorice?"

Petra nodded, grinning. "The tea shop downstairs had a new blend so I thought I'd try it. Plus, licorice is supposed to reduce stress and aid indigestion, and you've seemed like you could use something like that lately. How is it?"

"Hm." Levi took another sip. He never put sugar in his tea, and the licorice root added a touch of sweetness to the Assam's natural maltiness. "It's not bad." Petra smiled again as Levi shot a glance at his watch. Five after nine. He sighed again and turned back to Petra. "My 9:15 should be here any minute. Give me a call when he shows up, and I'll let you know when I'm ready for him. I don't know why Erwin thinks we need another law clerk, but the university's always happy to send over more students."

Petra's "Yes, sir!" floated after him as he made his way down the hall and to his office, right next to Erwin's and across from Nile's legal secretary and Levi's counterpart, Marlo. He'd barely gotten settled in when his intercom buzzed and Petra's voice crackled to life across it. "Mr. Ackerman? A Mr. Jaeger is here for his interview."

"Send him in." Levi already had the file out and waiting on the desk. Normally, he liked more time to prepare for these things, but normally he wasn't five minutes late into work, either. Oh, well. The interview was merely a formality at this point; the current crop of near-graduates from the law school was nothing stellar, and both Erwin and Nile had agreed that - on paper, at least - Eren Jaeger had stood out head and shoulders above his peers.

There was a light knock on his door, followed by it opening as a young man stepped through. "Mr. Ackerman? I'm...I...oh, shit."

The last part had been barely whispered, and probably not intended for Levi to hear - unlike the "Fuck off" from that morning. Although Levi could certainly resonate with the sentiment, because standing across from him was the same brat from the train.

Today was suddenly shaping up to be much, much better than previously anticipated.

Levi looked up into green eyes gone wide with shock, and raised one eyebrow, thankful that  _years_ of practice and iron control kept his expression perfectly neutral. "Take a seat, Mr. Jaeger."

He watched the young man swallow heavily, and couldn't help but feel slightly impressed when Eren sat down in the indicated chair instead of simply opening the door behind him and bolting.

Levi shuffled through his papers. "Now, you're here for the law clerk position that opened up under Senior Partner Erwin Smith, correct?" At Eren's somewhat miserable-looking nod, he continued. "Your qualifications seem to be in order. You're in the top ten of your class at Sina, and your professors say you're 'quite passionate about the law, but can be prone to getting carried away.'" Levi glanced up at Eren. The young man's gaze was focused on the edge of Levi's desk. "For some reason, I have absolutely no trouble believing that."

Levi watched with some amusement as the tips of Eren's ears flooded red. "I... I want to apologize. For this morning. Sir."

"That's sweet," Levi intoned dryly. "But do you want to apologize because it's the right thing to do, or because the bastard you shoved and then insulted just happened to be the same one interviewing you?"

"B-because it's the right thing to do, sir." Eren finally looked up to meet his eyes for the first time since sitting down. "I looked back for you right after, but you'd already left. I...I probably should have looked harder, but..." Eren trailed off, his expression going uncertain.

"A law student, and you don't make any excuses? No pleas of 'mitigating circumstances?' I'm impressed."

Eren scowled, "Look, I can just leave. I know this interview is probably pointless, anyway."

"Why didn't you leave at the beginning, then? Why stay?"

"Because I'm not just gonna roll over and give up!" Eren was finally sitting up straight in his chair, his chin held high. "You were talking to me instead of just ordering me out, so I thought it was worth a try."

This time, Levi actually  _was_ a little impressed. "You're right, Jaeger, this interview was pointless, but not for the reason you think." As Levi talked, Eren's expression started to fall, only to perk back up again with a hint of wary hope. "You can thank your peers for being lazy sacks of shit, or thank blind luck, but you already had the job before you walked in the door. Petra has a copy of your schedule; just double-check it before you leave to make sure there aren't any conflicts with your classes, and we'll see you on Monday."

Eren's eyes had gone wide with surprise again, his mouth hanging open slightly. "That's it? Even after what I did on the train?"

Levi snorted and turned to his computer. "Oh, please. If we didn't let people work here just because they told their bosses to 'fuck off,' I never would have made it past my first day with Erwin." He waved his hand in a shooing motion toward the door. "Go on, now, and let me get back to my work."

After Eren left, stammering out his gratitude, Levi leaned back in his chair and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Eren Jaeger, huh?" he found himself questioning the empty air.

He straightened and pulled up the files for Erwin's next case, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling in his gut that the kid was going to be trouble.


	2. Old Friends and New Errand Boys

Monday afternoon, Levi finally got the phone call he was waiting for. Of course, he didn't get it until  _after_ his lunch break was over - which he'd worked through anyway, fuck you very much, Erwin - so he quickly stepped out into the main law office, looking for a likely volunteer.

"Here's the case precedent file you were looking for, Mr. Bossard."

_'Ah, perfect.'_

"Eren!" Levi watched with some amusement as Eren straightened up and turned to face him so quickly that Levi half-expected him to go into a salute. 

"Sir?"

"Do you know how to drive a manual transmission?"

Eren nodded, even as his rather thick eyebrows drew together in a confused expression. "I learned to drive on a stick-shift."

"Good, here." Levi handed Eren a business card from his mechanic and a pass for the office parking garage. "Go to this address and tell them you're there to pick up my car; I'll give them a call to let them know you're coming. When you get back, just drop off my keys and the pass at my office."

"O-okay. How do I, um..."

Levi pulled a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to him. "Here, just take a cab."

"Okay! I'll be right back, sir!"

Levi watched Eren take off at a fast walk and hummed to himself as he returned to work. He supposed he could have just picked it up himself on the way home, but...no. Levi shuddered at even the thought of having to take public transport one more time.

~~~~~

Eren stared.

Then he blinked and looked up at the mechanic who was holding out the keys to him. "Are you sure this is  _Levi_ Ackerman's car?"

"It's the only one going out today, kid. Mr. Ackerman called to say you'd be picking it up."

Eren finally accepted the keys and slowly walked toward the car. Although "car" didn't really seem to fit the elegant black machine sitting in front of him, all curved lines and raw power with accents of gleaming chrome. He slowly climbed in and adjusted the seat and mirrors, and then he sat there for a moment, letting it all sink in.

_'Holy shit, I'm in a Gran Turismo. I am behind the steering wheel of a Gran fucking Turismo.'_

The reality was not living up to the fantasy of flying down the highway, drifting around corners like a professional stunt driver.

The reality was actually somewhat terrifying.

_'This thing is worth more than I am.'_

Eren finally turned the key and stepped down on the clutch to move the car into gear. He eased out onto the road, looking both ways and looking again for good measure.

The entire drive back to the office, he found himself praying to every deity he knew to let him get the car back in one piece, mostly because Eren liked his  _own_ pieces right where they were.

~~~~~

When Eren dropped off the keys about half-an-hour later, he was frowning. "You could have warned me."

"Hm? Warned you about what?" Levi kept his gaze focused on his computer as he composed an email to one of Erwin's clients.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe that I'd be driving a freaking  _Maserati_." Eren dragged a hand back through his hair. "I was so afraid that I was going to scratch it or something and have to sell my kidney to pay for it."

"First-born children would also have been acceptable."

Eren snorted. "Hah. Good luck with that." Levi looked up at him, arching an eyebrow. Eren turned his head and cleared his throat, the tips of his ears going red. "Er, never mind."

"Whatever." Levi handed a file folder to Eren. "Drop this off with Petra on your way out."

"Yes, sir!"

Levi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Eren."

Eren paused with his hand on the door and looked back over his shoulder. "Sir?"

"That. That right there. My name is Levi, or Mr. Ackerman if you  _insist_. Drop the damn 'sir.' It's bad enough that I can't get Petra to stop doing it; I don't need to hear it from you, too."

"O-oh. Alright. Sorry, s- Mr. Ackerman."

Levi just waved him off and returned his attention to the email.

~~~~~

Over the course of the next several weeks, Levi discovered that Eren was almost embarrassingly eager to run errands for him when he asked. He assumed it was because the young man was still desperately trying to make up for his botched first impression, and, okay, Levi might have been taking advantage of that eagerness. At first, it was because it was amusing to watch Eren scramble to obey when he said, "Jump," but it soon was because it was utterly necessary for his own sanity. Erwin had taken on a major client, and Levi found most of his time at work (now including overtime and Saturdays) taken up with that case. As a result, having Eren ready and willing to deal with some of the smaller, but still vital, tasks was a godsend.

Not that he would ever outright _tell_ him that.

However, even with Eren's help, the long hours were starting to get to him.

"I swear, that blond bastard is  _trying_ to kill me."

"There, there, Big Bro. I'm sure it's not that bad." Isabel patted the back of Levi's head. Levi lifted his face just far enough from the couch cushion to glare at her, but his foster sister just laughed and poked him between the eyebrows. "You're gonna get a wrinkle if you keep scowling like that."

"I am not." Levi sat up, rubbing his forehead.

Farlan came in from the kitchen, balancing a teapot and cups on a tray which he carefully set down on the coffee table. He grinned at Levi. "You complain now, but you're the one that decided to go to law school, you know?" _  
_

"Don't fucking remind me." Levi poured himself a cup and took a sip. "I should have just opened up a tea shop or something."

"You know," Isabel said thoughtfully as she scooted over to make room for Farlan on her other side, "I was always surprised you went to work for Erwin instead of taking the bar yourself. You always did really good in class."

"I  _had_ to do good, or I would have lost my scholarships. Besides, can you  _really_ picture me arguing a case in a courtroom?"

Farlan snorted. "Yeah, you'd probably end up kicking your own client in the face or something."

"Why did I ask you over, again?"

"Because you love us." Isabel grinned at him, and then she pulled out the huge binder that Levi had been eyeing with dread ever since they'd walked through the door. "Also, you promised to help me pick out boutonnieres for the groomsmen."

"Oh, God, the wedding's not for three months."

"Exactly! I'm way behind on getting this stuff done!" Isabel's green eyes flashed, and then she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "You promised to help, and, besides, you're one of the people that's gonna have to wear these."

"What about Farlan? He's going to be wearing one, too."

Farlan held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just the groom. It's my job to smile and nod and say 'Yes, dear,' to whatever Isa wants. As my best man, it's your duty to step into the line of fire."

Levi sighed, and flipped through the pages filled with clipped-out pictures of different floral arrangements. Finally, he pointed to one. "I like the gardenia."

Isabel took the binder back. "Oh, I like that one, too. It's kinda pricey though."

Levi reached out and ruffled Isabel's hair. "I told you already - I'll cover the cost of the flowers."

"But they're always the most expensive part..."

"I can afford it. You can go ahead and fly in a half-ton of orchids from Hawaii for all I care."

Isabel squealed, and the next thing Levi knew his ribs were being squeezed in a bone-crushing hug. "You're the best, Big Bro!" He awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder, and she finally pulled back, still smiling. "Speaking of the wedding, have you decided who you're going to take?"

"I don't know. Most of my friends are paired up, and I'm not seeing anyone right now. I might just go alone."

Isabel frowned at him. "You can't do that! You're the best man; you need to bring  _someone_ with you. It's not like it has to be a  _date_ date."

Levi sighed and ran his hand down his face. He glanced over at Farlan, but his friend just shrugged and shook his head. Levi sighed again. "Yes, dear."

As Farlan shot him a thumb's up behind Isabel's back, Levi at least consoled himself with the fact that he had almost three months to find some poor sap to drag along.

How hard could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isabel and Farlan ended up with a bigger part in this than I originally planned.
> 
> I am not complaining.


End file.
